Peers

Question 1

What is a peer?

Answer 1

one that is of equal standing with another; social equals; operating at similar levels of behavioral complexity

Question 2

True or False:
A toddler and a 6 year-old are peers.

Answer 2

False
Age difference is a big deal at this age; they are not social equals and there is lots of deviation between the two

Question 3

What kinds of equal status interactions can peers provide?

Answer 3

• feedback and practice in role taking skills
• growth promoting conflicts of viewpoint
• practice in compromise
• emotional security
• training for later romantic relationships

Question 4

What is sociability?

Answer 4

one’s willingness to engage with others in social interaction and to seek their attention and approval

Question 5

What is the timeline of sociability within infancy and toddlerhood?

Answer 5

• 6 months: bit of interactions with peers (babbling, toy offering)
• 1 year: taking turns
• 18 months: coordinated interactions (i.e. imitation)
• 2 years: complementary roles (i.e. tag)

Question 6

What are the three non-social play types?

Answer 6

1. unoccupied
2. solitary
3. onlooker

Question 7

What does unoccupied play look like?

Answer 7

• random, unpurposeful movement
• may be standing in one spot or observing something in the environment

Question 8

What does solitary play look like?

Answer 8

non-random movements with directed course of action

Question 9

What does onlooker play look like?

Answer 9

observes other kids playing

finding out what it’s like to socialize

Question 10

What are the three forms of social play within early childhood?

Answer 10

• parallel play
• associative play
• cooperative play

Question 11

What does parallel play look like?

Answer 11

child plays independently at the same activity as other children

Question 12

What does associative play look like?

Answer 12

child still focused on a separate activity but acknowledging the others’ actions (i.e. imitation, sharing/lending, helping, taking turns)

Question 13

What does cooperative play look like?

Answer 13

children organize their play and/or activity cooperatively with a common goal; differentiate and assign roles

Question 14

What is peer acceptance?

Answer 14

measure of person’s likability in the eyes of peers

Question 15

How is peer acceptance measured?

Answer 15

ask children who they like/dislike in their class and with whom they want to be friends

Question 16

What are the five sociometric categories?

Answer 16

1. popular
2. rejected
3. neglected
4. average
5. controversial

Question 17

What is the popular peer status?

Answer 17

children who are viewed positively by many peers and viewed negatively by few peers

Question 18

What kind of characteristics do children with popular peer status have?

Answer 18

• skilled at initiating interactions with peers and maintaining positive relationships
• cooperative, friendly, sociable, sensitive to others
• well regulated, unihibited
• tend to be less aggressive

Question 19

What is the difference between children who are popular sociometrically and children who are popular as perceived by peers?

Answer 19

sociometric: kind
peer-labeled: use relational aggression to hurt others

Question 20

What is the rejected peer status?

Answer 20

children who are liked by few peers and disliked by many peers

Question 21

What two kinds of characteristics do children with rejected peer status have?

Answer 21

• aggressive-rejected
• withdrawn-rejected

Question 22

What characterizes aggressive-rejected children?

Answer 22

• prone to hostile and threatening behavior, physical aggression, disruptive behavior, and delinquency
• hostile attribution: likely to attribute hostile motives to others in negative social situations
• aggressive behavior often underlies rejection by peers
• develop a network of aggressive friends

Question 23

What characterizes withdrawn-rejected children?

Answer 23

• socially withdrawn, wary, timid
• withdrawn behavior combined with negative actions or emotions

Question 24

Where does internalized low self-esteem and low sociability come from?

Answer 24

attachment
–> teaches you your worth

Question 25

What are mediators of long-term effects of peer rejection?

Answer 25

* alliance with deviant peer groups * elevated stress (dominance hierarchy shows that people expressing most stress are recognized as targets for aggression) * lack of social support from peers or teachers * lack of opportunities to develop effective social skills * low self esteem

Question 26

What kinds of resources are available to help assist rejected children?

Answer 26

* social skills training * changing faulty social perception (i.e. hostile attribution bias)

Question 27

What is the neglected peer status?

Answer 27

children who are **infrequently mentioned** as liked or disliked | appear neglected primarily because they are not noticed

Question 28

What is the controversial peer status?

Answer 28

children who are **liked by quite a few peers** and **disliked by quite a few others**

Question 29

What kind of characteristics do controversial children show?

Answer 29

* characteristics of both popular and rejected children * arrogant and snobbish * high intensity, low regulation

Question 30

Over a short period of time: The status of popular or neglected children ____. The status of neglected or controversial children ____.

Answer 30

remains stable; changes

Question 31

Over a long period of time: The sociometric stability of neglected children is generally ____ than for popular, neglected, or controversial children.

Answer 31

higher

Question 32

True or False: The major predictors of popularity change substantially with age.

Answer 32

False They do not change with age

Question 33

True or False: Although aggression is a predictor of rejection in **childhood**, overt aggression appears to play a less important role in peer rejection in **adolescence**

Answer 33

True

Question 34

True or False: Aggressive behavior seems to become a more important predictor of peer rejection with **increasing age** in childhood

Answer 34

False Withdrawn behavior is a more important predictor with age

Question 35

True or False: Adolescents spend more time with peers and have emotional distance from parents.

Answer 35

True

Question 36

What two brain structures affect adolescents' cognition and decision making?

Answer 36

* prefrontal cortex * ventral striatum (the reward circuit)

Question 37

True or False: During adolescence, the prefrontal cortex is hypersensitized and the reward circuit is still under construction

Answer 37

False During adolescence, the prefrontal cortex is still under construction and the reward circuit is hypersensitized

Question 38

What is "the perfect storm" of the adolescent brain?

Answer 38

* decreased self control * increased sensitivity to pleasure * possibility of reward to take risk + willing to take that risk --> more risky behaviors

Question 39

What study showed how being around peers in adolescence influenced decision making?

Answer 39

* teenagers brought in to do driving game where the fastest to finish wins * risky behavior = running red light * alone: adolescents, young adults, and adults all behaved the same * with a peer: adolescents' risky behavior increased greatly

Question 40

How do peers affect adolescents' brain activity?

Answer 40

friends trigger reward circuitry * big dopamine activation for adolescents when engaging in risky behavior with peers

Question 41

True or False: Adolescents and adults engage in similar prefrontal regulatory circuitry.

Answer 41

False Adolescents do not engage in regulatory prefrontal circuitry like adults do